Meals on Wheels gets gift from Walmart

Meal on Wheels has been serving it up for over 30 years locally–-now Walmart has given them a little boost.PHOTO FROM MEALS ON WHEELS WEBSITE

Earlier this month, Walmart announced it was donating $755,000 to 12 Virginia non-profits through the super-store's State Giving Program. Well, $45,000 of it landed in the lap of Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville/Albemarle, which delivers 180 to 200 hot, prepared lunch-time meals to the homebound every day Monday through Friday, courtesy of a local volunteer force of nearly 200.

"We are so grateful to the Walmart Foundation for this generous grant," says Meals on Wheels public relations director Dawn Grzegorczyk. "With this generous gift, Meals on Wheels can continue our work to fulfill our mission of providing hot meals and friendly hellos to all those in our community who need them, regardless of ability to pay."

Grzegorczyk says the money has already been earmarked to purchase meals for Charlottesville residents in public housing who are both unable to prepare their own meals and unable to pay even a nominal fee for the meals they do receive.

"This grant will cover the cost of one full year of hot, home-delivered meals for 32 Charlottesville city residents who depend daily on Meals on Wheels for both food and social interaction," says Grzegorczyk.